The lost art of keeping a secret

"So in your case, working as a nude dancer makes all the sense in the world. And I think the logical..."

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:32:20 +0100

“So in your case, working as a nude dancer makes all the sense in the world. And I think the logical next step is to own the means of production, that is, create a combination strip club and cultural studies foundation, where the neon sign outside says, “XXX Cultural Studies — the XXX productive force of the XXX 21st century.” Tall enough to be seen from the interstate, it would alternately flash, “Naked Girls! Books! Naked Girls! Books!””

- Cary Tennis, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

"[…] most people are too harried and hollow to grasp this, too distracted by happy pills and..."

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:32:11 +0100

“

[…] most people are too harried and hollow to grasp this, too distracted by happy pills and shopping malls. We’ve probably never taken the time to walk through “autumn’s multihued lustrousness … with hearts irreparably ripped.” Nor have we “stared for an hour at the sparrow lying stiff on the soiled snow.”

No, never have. But they’re at the top of my to-do list: ripped heart, dead sparrow.

”

- Jerome Weeks, Don’t be happy, worry

"The point is this: There are no “rules,” only an urging to be the best we all can be. If..."

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:14:47 +0100

“The point is this: There are no “rules,” only an urging to be the best we all can be. If we get fired up about misogyny and the unrealistic expectations placed on women but then allow comments like, “she’s huuuuge,” doesn’t that make us part of the problem?”

- The Jezebel team cottons on to the fact that slagging off other women’s bodies does indeed make them part of the problem. Way to go.

"[…] a method is not “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment unless it is..."

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:42:08 +0100

“[…] a method is not “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment unless it is administered with “deliberate indifference” to the pain and suffering of the condemned. In short, if the inmate suffers, it’s not because the authorities in charge of executing him meant to have him suffer.”

- Is lethal injection torture?

(Apparently not, if the executioner cares about your pain.)

"Prada is going public on the stock market. It’s been saying it’s going to go public for..."

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:01:25 +0100

“Prada is going public on the stock market. It’s been saying it’s going to go public for millions of years now but they’re Italian so they just got around to actually filing the papers.”

- More piss-taking, courtesy of Jezebel.

"I didn’t want a woman who represented me to walk around with botulism in her face or staples..."

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:47:00 +0100

“I didn’t want a woman who represented me to walk around with botulism in her face or staples in her forehead.”

- Rebecca Traister, on criticism aimed at Hillary Clinton’s wrinkles and lines.

Which makes me think: is criticizing a political candidate’s possible facelift any better than criticizing her lack thereof? Given that Hillary Clinton looks very good for her age (she is sixty; so is my mum, and this is what she looks like; she is a rather good-looking lady who’s simply not gone under the knife), and that I have yet to see the same kind of absurd criticism levelled at any male, it is very hard to see why we should care any way or the other. Argentinians have just elected a presidenta who’s clearly had a lot of work done: should that be taken as indicative of how she will perform politically? I say stop the madness.

"to change your ways means changing your individual ways: refusing certain compromises, to start..."

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:19:00 +0100

““to change your ways means changing your individual ways: refusing certain compromises, to start paying your taxes, don’t ask for favors when you are looking for a job, not to cheat when your child is trying to reach admission to university.””

- Beppe Severgnini, to the New York Times, on Italy’s cultural, social and economic paralysis.

Random thoughts on the second season of Ugly Betty (contains spoilers!)

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:29:59 +0100

Is Chris Gorham’s turn as Henry a long audition for the role of Clark Kent somewhere? I swear all the guy needs is a blue shirt with an “S” on the front.
I positively squirmed in my seat when Justin fitted him in that t-shirt. Those abs look completely out of place on an accountant. Almost embarrassing to watch.
Am I the only one who finds it a bit sad that writers seem to have Betty’s next boyfriend already lined up so early in the series? It takes away a bit of the suspense. Or maybe it adds to it. I don’t know.
Hate to say it, but grief becomes Hilda. She’s almost starting to act like an adult now.
Why does Betty never get a promotion? She’s competent, apt to save Daniel’s arse day in, day out and has excellent organizational skills. She should’ve got a raise and be put in charge of something already.
I’m bored with Alexis. I want more Claire. “Children!”
Wonder which new series Alan Dale resume the role of the rich cold-hearted magnate on. Is he still going to be playing Penny’s father on Lost?
I’m feeling a little sorry for Wilhelmina. Yes, really. And you are too.
There is also never enough Christina on this series.
And whatever happened to Marc’s boyfriend? Bring him on.

"The term “shoegazer” originated from these bands’ withdrawn aura onstage...."

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:40:27 +0100

“The term “shoegazer” originated from these bands’ withdrawn aura onstage. Guitarists, especially, seemed to spend the whole gig staring at the floor. There was a prosaic reason for this: The billowing amorphousness of shoegaze’s guitar sound relied heavily on foot-controlled pedal effects.”

- Simon Reynolds, on “The Brit Box”.

Baby talk

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 09:46:00 +0100

We’re on our toes. My sister looks like a balloon that’s been inflated to capacity, and we circle around her, waiting, waiting. Any conversational topic that does not involve the baby and its imminent birth and/or pre-planned infancy and childhood is greeted with stony silence. Well, at least I don’t have to talk about my job, or lack thereof.

I’m really excited and curious about this new person about to burst into our lives and make five where there were four, blood of our blood, flesh of our flesh. And yet this pregnancy has made me realize how much I love my own life, the life I’ve made for myself that is so different from what was expected from me when I was born. I was a gifted child when gifted children did not get any special attention. I sometimes think my precociousness spoiled it for everyone who was born after me, my sister included. Or maybe it didn’t: it was just there, a given, a gift that went unappreciated and faded with time. At any rate, whatever was expected of me I did not deliver. I am not a mother. I am not a wife, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. I am not even a wildly successful woman. I am simply a mildly talented thirtysomething, struggling in an unforgiving job market and learning how to live and love on a daily basis. I may have let everyone down. And still, it doesn’t matter so much anymore. I like what I have become. I like that there is room for improvement. I love improvement.

Let’s hope this baby comes soon. There are so many books I want to read to it, so many drawings we can sit down to, so many fields to run through.

"[…] despite several internationally known adultery sentences of death by stoning in a public..."

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 09:29:56 +0100

“[…] despite several internationally known adultery sentences of death by stoning in a public square — including that of Amina Lawal, a woman from Katsina State who gave birth to a child out of wedlock that a Shariah court in 2002 took as evidence of the crime — not one stoning sentence has been carried out. Ms. Lawal’s conviction was overturned the following year, and she is now active in local politics, living freely with her daughter Wasila in her hometown.”

- Nigeria Turns from Harsher Side of Islamic Law

In season

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:02:00 +0100

I have made castagnaccio. I’m really bad at puddings - I can’t make anything that is supposed to rise - but castagnaccio is probably the easiest sweet to make in the whole wide tradition of Italian desserts.

It is essentially a mix of chestnut flour, water, olive oil, pine nuts and sultanas. Ingredients are mixed in a bowl and then baked in a low tin until the surface of the pudding cracks. Some recipes include rosemary, but I wanted a real pudding, something I could have after dinner or as a snack when I feel peckish. Castagnaccio is a typical Tuscan pudding, and like many dishes in that tradition it is made to last long, be very energetic, cheap and quick to prepare. It uses materials that may be easily found in the woods (the sultanas seem to be a later addition) or commonplace in any Italian kitchen, like olive oil.

Castagnaccio tastes like last century. Uncomplicated, not too sweet, very nourishing. Something Grandmother could give you as a reward for a chore or a little errand, wrapped in a napkin, with a glass of milk or - if you’re old enough - some vin brulé. Oh, vin brulé. Next time, maybe.

"If the inquiry names names, then names will be named.” - Gordon Brown, PM."

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:33:27 +0100

““If the inquiry names names, then names will
be named.” - Gordon Brown, PM.”

- Popbitch

"Rock Band is Guitar Hero for people with more than one friend."

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:11:09 +0100

“Rock Band is Guitar Hero for people with more than one friend.”

- Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney tests Rock Band (the game) for Slate.

"When your wife makes $100 million during the course of your marriage, it’s quite a shocker..."

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:37:07 +0100

“When your wife makes $100 million during the course of your marriage, it’s quite a shocker … I felt like my masculinity had been stripped from me. I feel like my b - - - s are in a jar, like a Damien Hirst artwork on the mantelpiece.”

- Matthew Mellon, or another reason why women choose their family over their career; or, another reason why career women have trouble staying in their marriages; or, another sad sack who can’t handle his wife being bigger than he is, and needs to pair off with somebody who will make him feel all macho.

"Does Lily Bart, the novel’s heroine, kill herself or die of an accidental overdose?"

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:08:15 +0100

“Does Lily Bart, the novel’s heroine, kill herself or die of an accidental overdose?”

- The New York Times. Probably worse, she didn’t care either way.

"An Italian circuit court ruled Friday that reporting gossip in Italy will be illegal unless it helps..."

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:00:18 +0100

“An Italian circuit court ruled Friday that reporting gossip in Italy will be illegal unless it helps make a larger point about the figure in question.”

- Hollywood Reporter. One wonders: what exactly would be the “larger point” that may be made by reporting gossip?

"Obviously, Italian newspapers have also described Knox’s standoffishness with women, called..."

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:14:43 +0100

“Obviously, Italian newspapers have also described Knox’s standoffishness with women, called her a “cold maneater,” and blamed Knox’s mother indirectly for her allegedly murderous spawn because the mother is divorced and remarried to a much younger man.”

- Jezebel commenting on Italian newspapers commenting on the Meredith Kercher murder case. Wait until they get wind of how some news shows call the poor kid “Mez”, so as to make the Italian public feel closer and more familiar with her.

Reaching out

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:19:10 +0100

Here’s an experiment: after years of blogging in my native Italian, I want to try and go Anglo-Saxon. Just to see what will happen and how it’ll turn out.

Vladimir Nabokov achieved immortality by switching to English. I’ll be more than happy with a lot, lot less.